Before the members of the San Diego Women’s Foundation give, they mull. The road to awarding the foundation’s yearly grants winds through community meetings, proposal reviews and site visits before ending in pots of gold for such recipients as the Barrio Logan College Institute and the San Diego Center for Children.

When Marty Vales heard about the process before joining the group in 2008, her first thought was, “Man, that’s a lot of work.” Two years later, it’s still a lot of work. And boy, is it worth it.

“We want to make sure that our money makes an impact, and the process helps us ensure that our decision is legitimate,” Vales, 50, said. “It’s so nice to be part of a group that discusses everything to make sure that our gifts are well placed. It’s amazing what women can do just by talking.”

Since forming 13 years ago, the San Diego Women’s Foundation has given more than $2 million to local nonprofits. And to join, the members have to do more than talk. They must commit $2,000 a year for a minimum of five years. Donating time is strictly optional, but for Vales, that was the best part.

After joining the group, the retired 401(k) record keeper has become involved in every aspect of the foundation’s rigorous grant-making process. She has reviewed proposals for the Implementation Team, met community groups with the Discovery Team and worked with grantees on the Impact Team.

Through the foundation, Vales also got to know the Monarch School, which educates and supports children whose families are struggling with homelessness. Now she volunteers there, too. Like the meticulous worker she was, Vales believes in crossing her t’s, dotting her i’s and making sure the listening and talking sides of her ledger balance out.

“I just think she cares a whole bunch,” said Women’s Foundation Board President Rita Solberg. “She is very committed to what we do, but she doesn’t think hers is the opinion everyone has to honor. She’s always insightful, but she doesn’t push. She’s happy to be one of many voices, and that’s who we are. You can’t be high-maintenance with us. That doesn’t work with our organization.”

Growing up in Manasquan, N.J., Vales got her head for numbers from her bookkeeper mother. She got her empathy from volunteering as a candy striper in the hospital and from her father’s work as a county health officer. After graduating from Rutgers University with a math degree, Vales got into the retirement-planning business. She and her husband moved to San Diego in 1990.

She joined the Women’s Foundation on the advice of a co-worker, then promptly got into the giving-back business. The hours were a little longer than she expected, but the dividends were higher than she could have imagined.

There are the friends she’s made during all those meetings and brainstorming sessions. There are all the communities she has visited and the life-changing organizations she helped through the foundation’s grants. And then there are the kids of the Monarch School, who came into her life two years ago and gave her more ways to give back.

Vales heard about the school through a fellow foundation member, and as soon as she retired, she got to work on Monarch’s behalf. She now does algebra tutoring and helps run “Shopping Day” in which Monarch kids are outfitted with donated clothes, shoes and the priceless gift of confidence.

“Some of these kids have the most awful clothes or clothes that just don’t fit. Their shoes are held together by rubber bands,” Vales said. “When you’re a kid, you just want to look like everybody else, and if you can give them something simple like clean socks or clothes that fit, it helps reduce anxiety and stress so they can focus on something else.”

In her spare time, Vales likes to do yoga and get in some urban hiking. But what she really likes to do is work with the passionate women she respects and admires, and work for the kids who need her. As retirement schedules go, it’s a full one. And Vales likes the way it all adds up.

“I have the time. I had a successful career, and now it’s my turn to give back. And it’s fun,” she adds. “That’s how I get paid.”